However, note that, on the left, every time you visit the Classifieds, move to a different page within it, or refresh, a new :random classified" comes up. This is a way to get some visibility for older items. (I was feeling a little put out because my MB 149 was buried on page 3 in the first day or so, but it popped up in the randoms once, so I felt a little better).

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However, note that, on the left, every time you visit the Classifieds, move to a different page within it, or refresh, a new :random classified" comes up. This is a way to get some visibility for older items. (I was feeling a little put out because my MB 149 was buried on page 3 in the first day or so, but it popped up in the randoms once, so I felt a little better).

This is indeed a nice feature.

One of the reasons we have two FS categories for essentially the same stuff is not only because that way occasional sellers do not get swamped, but also because there is no real need for a bump button anymore .

Warm regards, WIm

the Mad Dutchmanlaugh a little, love a little, live a lot; laugh a lot, love a lot, live forever

I just wanted to offer a philosophical take on the Classified Kerfluffle. Certainly I, along with everyone who has either raved or ranted about the new selling format, has (or ought to have) a deep and genuine appreciation for the (volunteer) work on this project and on the forum in general. Nevertheless, I do see that a lot of folks reacted pretty strongly to the new format. If I'm being honest, I must confess my own inner curmudgeon came out swinging.My apologies for that; that's why I sat down and tried to determine why I had the gut reaction I did. I thought I'd share, for my own sake, for the sake of letting our tireless (and often unthanked) mods know what was up, and maybe, if what I have to say isn't pure rhetorical fluff (and as an academic, I always acknowledge that's possibility) it may be good to think about moving forward.I think part of the problem is that the new marketplace format has gone from feeling like a community thing, like a farmers market, to feeling more like an institution. In this day and age, I think we (consumers, users, customers, members) are too used to having 'new and improved' shoved down our throat, will we or nil we, only to find, that "new and improved' may indeed be the former, but is almost never the latter. We are also surrounded by incomprehensibly and excessively complex systems for everything, from calling our local bank to reading our phone bill. And in too many venues, "new" too often means "even less comprehensible, and even less useful."

As it was, for all its flaws, the old selling forum was not complex, it was not rigid. It was simple, and relied on integrity and community goodwill to work. And, by and large, from where most of us sit, it did. It was more of a conversation, a series of exchanges and interactions, not between vague entities, but directly between people. I think that is something we don't have enough of, and I for one, cherished that here.

Now? This is no longer feels as personal, it is not a direct conversation. Sure, technically, it still is - the same exchanges, the same interactions. Pens, PayPal, etc. But this classified format acts as an entire structure, an edifice, a simulacra of a storefront between buyer and seller that did not exist before. It occupies, I think, the same mental space as customer service phone menus and fine print. On a purely psychological, symbolic level, it creates distance by inserting complexity. I think people tend to rebel against that.

I do get the drawbacks of the old system; I really do. And I get that, in the end, it is rarely (if ever) possible to make people behave voluntarily. However, the freeform nature of the old sales forum was something I, for one, really valued for that specific reason, and was actually proud of. The casual, personal, 'I'm dealing with a real human being' nature of it was a big part of the reason I'd prefer to go here than eBay. I suspect the same is true of a lot of those who are objecting. Perhaps we are overreacting.

Likely, it will still be more personal and 'real' than eBay ever will. But will it be the same conversation? Will it regain its intimacy? Will the sense of 'community' overcome the distance? We'll see, and I'm not the one to prognosticate. My purpose here is merely to reflect on what changed for me and why. If that proves useful to others, well, I've done far more than I ought to have hoped for.

I only have a few things to say about Classifieds. The ability to buy and sell on this website always only was meant as an addiitonal service to our membership, not the mainstay of the board, wasn't meant as a set of discussion forums, and it was not only taking up too many volunteer resources, to the point of causing burnouts, but also caused a lot of friction between members. This was why the sales rules were created, but in the end this caused even more work, be it less problems between buyers and sellers.

Also, there always have been lots of complaints about the inability to edit classifieds posts, the swamping of occasional seller classifieds by those who make a living from it or earn money with it, etc. etc. And then there were the issues around moderation.

With the new Classifieds, it now finally becomes what it always should have been, namely an additional service only, with a fairly straightforward implementation of the sales rules, and all the stuf fthat was missing in the classifieds forums. Members can now interact directly with sellers, without "interference" from the moderators and admins, and it becomes now even more a case of exhausting possibilities between buyers and sellers before moderators and admins are called upon.

It also means we can dedicate more time to that which is our hobby: pens and pen related items and talking about them, exchanging information, without worrying too much about sales activities.

That, to me, is a win-win situation for all members here. And I know many people agree with me on this.

FYI: we have been looking at alternatives for the forums for a long time (more than three years), and we have been close to shutting down the sales forums several times. If it hadn't been for the Classifieds app, the forums would have been shut down completely, likely around Christmas the last year, for good.

Is Classifieds complete, can it do all? No, it can't, not even half of what we'd like it to do - yet. But it is more capable than anything that can be done with the standard forum software, for this specific task, and it will be built out. We are only at Version 1.0.0 now, and updates are planned already by the developer.

HTH, warm regards, Wim

the Mad Dutchmanlaugh a little, love a little, live a lot; laugh a lot, love a lot, live forever

When looking at the "New Content" of the classified listings, the first line of the description (below the Subject line) shows the actual bbcode tags instead of the alteration of the text. By this, I mean that instead of bolding a work, I see the word surrounded by the 'bold' tags, exactly as you would seen them in the Full Editor.

HTH

"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick; and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."~ Benjamin Franklin

When looking at the "New Content" of the classified listings, the first line of the description (below the Subject line) shows the actual bbcode tags instead of the alteration of the text. By this, I mean that instead of bolding a work, I see the word surrounded by the 'bold' tags, exactly as you would seen them in the Full Editor.

HTH

Thank you Jon. That was supposed to be fixed, and when we tested for this in the current version it appeared to work well. For the time being please don't use any special formatting for the title please - I'll take it up with the developer.

Warm regards, Wim

the Mad Dutchmanlaugh a little, love a little, live a lot; laugh a lot, love a lot, live forever

Topics I've "watched" in the new classifieds don't seem to appear when I log in and go to my "watched" list.

Sorry, I forgot how this works wih Classifieds, as I don't use Watched Content myself. As far as I can remember, Watched Content for Classsifieds only works in conjunction with the Notification options, i.e., emails and/or PMs to notify you of changes,.

When I have more details, I'll let you know somehow.

Warm regards, Wim

the Mad Dutchmanlaugh a little, love a little, live a lot; laugh a lot, love a lot, live forever

So. Tried my first classified with the new system. After spending a long time to compose the message and fill out all the boxes, photos etc, submitted the post, and an error message came up. Can't recall now what it was, but I lost all that I had written. Gumbling a bit, I went through the whole thing again, only to have another error message telling me I didn't put in a 'valid price' (I did, I remember filling in that box), and once again lost all the data I had typed in. An hour and a half later, I have no post. I give up.

Just had to vent. Maybe I will try again later, see if the software likes me better at that time.

A small Update was added to the FPN Admin Column, to clarify what is supposed to go in the Low Volume vs the High Volume FS Category. That information has also been added to the sidebar in Classifieds.

Warm regards, Wim

On behalf of the Moderator and Admin Team

the Mad Dutchmanlaugh a little, love a little, live a lot; laugh a lot, love a lot, live forever

Forgive me if the answer to this is elsewhere, but how are 'Want to Buy' items put up? I don't see any separation - apart from a small 'flag' - and when I went to try and put up what was effectively a one-liner request, it seemed to want me to fill everything in just as if I was selling?

Forgive me if the answer to this is elsewhere, but how are 'Want to Buy' items put up? I don't see any separation - apart from a small 'flag' - and when I went to try and put up what was effectively a one-liner request, it seemed to want me to fill everything in just as if I was selling?

Hi Aysedasi,

Yes, it is a little more more work to set up a WTB than before. There was a topic on this, several actually, in Community Feedback, plus several questions in the comments section of the admin column.

In short, set it up as a normal classified, and check the Wanted radio button. For the mandatory picture you can add a picture of the item you are looking for if you have one available, and can use legitimately, or a brand logo picture, or even a drawing you made yourself. If you also add WTB in the title, it should be clear to all you are looking for something rather than selling. And for price just add a figure which approximates what you are willing to pay.

We have requested a few changes for Classifieds, including an easier option to enter WTBs, but till that time, we'll have to make do with what is available.

HTH, warm regards, Wim

the Mad Dutchmanlaugh a little, love a little, live a lot; laugh a lot, love a lot, live forever

Topics I've "watched" in the new classifieds don't seem to appear when I log in and go to my "watched" list.

Sorry, I forgot how this works wih Classifieds, as I don't use Watched Content myself. As far as I can remember, Watched Content for Classsifieds only works in conjunction with the Notification options, i.e., emails and/or PMs to notify you of changes,.

When I have more details, I'll let you know somehow.

Warm regards, Wim

Thanks for the quick reply, Wim. In the old classifieds, when I clicked "watch," I would get the notification choice window, I'd choose my preference and the forum then considers the topic watched. It would show up in my watched list. In the new classifieds, clicking "watch" would immediately consider the topic already watched (the button on top says "stop watching," but the notification window doesn't come up and the topic doesn't show up in my watched list.

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